Justin Welby: I failed to act on abuse scandal as scale was 'overwhelming'

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, stated in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he failed to promptly follow up on abuse allegations within the Church of England because the scale of the problem was "absolutely overwhelming." Welby emphasized that the severity of the issue was the reason for the delayed action, not an excuse.

Welby resigned last November following the release of a scathing independent inquiry report, becoming the first Archbishop to resign in over a thousand years. The report indicated that he did not rigorously follow up on reports involving John Smyth, a long-time abuser of children and young men with ties to the church. Welby admitted he made mistakes and stated that, as Archbishop, there was no excuse for his failure to act.

In his first interview since resigning, Welby told BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg that the scale of the problem was the "reason – not an excuse" for his failure to act after taking office in 2013. He explained: "There were more cases coming onto the table every day, cases that were in the past, that had not been properly dealt with, and this was just another case – yes, I knew Smyth, but those few weeks were absolutely overwhelming."

A victim named Graham, who reported abuse allegations in 2013, told the BBC: "The Archbishop thought he was just too busy. No one should be too busy to deal with safeguarding disclosures. The Archbishop has never answered why, when he was told of horrific abuse, huge alarm bells didn't ring." The Makin Review found that the "horrific" and violent abuse of over 100 children and young men by Smyth in England and Africa was covered up within the Church of England for decades.

Smyth, a lawyer and senior member of a Christian charity, was accused of attacking dozens of boys in the 1970s and 1980s at his home in Winchester, Hampshire, and at Christian camps. He allegedly subjected victims to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological, and spiritual assaults, including whipping eight boys a total of 14,000 times with a garden cane in his shed. He later moved to Africa, where he continued his abusive behavior. Smyth died in Cape Town in 2018 at the age of 77, never facing legal consequences.

The review concluded that Welby, as the leader of the church, was not curious enough about the allegations when he learned of them in 2013, and that it was impossible for him to have been completely unaware before then. The report added that Welby "could and should" have reported the case to the authorities in 2013, which could have led to Smyth facing justice sooner. Welby has consistently denied knowing about Smyth's actions before that year.

Welby had previously resisted calls to resign over his handling of the case, insisting he did not need to when the Makin Review was published in November. However, days later, he said in a statement that he "must take personal and corporate responsibility for my response." At the time, he said he was resigning "with sadness for all the victims and survivors of abuse."

In the BBC interview, Welby expressed concern about the pressure faced by public figures, saying there could be "hasty judgments." "Having been on the receiving end of that question (about whether to resign), it's a very difficult question to answer because you think: have I let people down? Is this the right thing to do? It's a complex issue." Welby also stated that there is a general distrust of institutions in society and called for more leniency towards leaders.

The Church of England declined to comment prior to the broadcast of the interview.